Thesis (M.A.)--University of Michigan, 1980. / Typescript. Some parts are in Jawi. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-133).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Michigan, 1980. / Typescript. Some parts are in Jawi. Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-133). Also issued in print.

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The thesis is based on a field research carried out on Java primarily in communities gathered around the ritual dance called jathilan - an ancient, exorcistic and unique trance dance which operates with a binary opposition of good and bad forces. The aim is to extend the field of knowledge about this ritual and to enrich the existing sources of the insight into the issue of participation in jathilan and related factors. Interviews with research participants bring unique testimonies that are set into the context of the Javanese rural community. The central topic of the study is the motivation and the experience of the participants of jathilan with emphasis on the central motif of jathilan - trance and kesurupan (obsession). Great space is also devoted to the religious dimension of the jatihlan and its reflection by the participants themselves. The thesis approaches this phenomenon from three perspectives: 1) As a way to strengthen local communities, popular culture and regional cultural identity. 2) As a manifestation of religious syncretism on Java and how this syncretism is reflected by the main actors in Jathilan. 3) As a dynamic social, artistic and religious phenomenon under transformative conditions. All these perspectives are examined by the optics of jathilan participants, analyzed and set...